Alberto Ascari

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Alberto Ascari.jpg
Alberto Ascari
Nationality: 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Italian
Years: 1950 - 1955
Team(s): Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia
Races: 33
Championships: 2
Wins: 13
Podiums: 17
Poles: 14
Points 107.64 (140.14)
Fastest laps: 12
First race: 1950 Monaco Grand Prix
First win: 1951 German Grand Prix
Last win: 1953 Swiss Grand Prix
Last race: 1955 Monaco Grand Prix


Alberto Ascari (July 13, 1918May 26, 1955) was an Italian racing driver and twice Formula One World Champion. He is one of only two Italian Formula One World Champions in the history of the sport.


Early life

Born in Milan, Ascari was the son of Antonio Ascari, a talented Grand Prix motor racing star in the 1920s, racing Alfa Romeos. Antonio was killed while leading the French Grand Prix in 1925 but the younger Ascari had an interest in racing in spite of it. He raced motorcycles in his earlier years; it was after he entered the prestigious Mille Miglia in a Ferrari sports car that he eventually started racing on four wheels regularly.


Formula One/World Championship career

Alberto Ascari at the wheel of a Maserati 4CLT/48, on his way to second place in the 1948 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Following the end of World War II Alberto Ascari began racing in Grands Prix with Maserati. His team-mate was Luigi Villoresi, who would become a mentor and friend to Ascari. Formula One regulations were introduced by the FIA in 1946, with the aim of eventually replacing the pre-war Grand Prix structure. During the next four transitional years, Ascari was at the top of his game, winning numerous events around Europe. He won his first Grand Prix race in Sanremo, Italy in 1948 and took second place in the British Grand Prix the same year. Ascari won another race with the team the following year. His biggest success came after he joined Villoresi on the Ferrari team; he won three more races that year with them. The first Formula One World Championship season took place in 1950, and the Ferrari team made its World Championship debut at Monte Carlo with Ascari, Villoresi, and the popular French driver Raymond Sommer on the team. Ascari finished 2nd in the race and later in the year shared a 2nd place at the first World Championship race at Monza. He was only 5th in the championship standings however. He won his first World Championship F1 race the following season on the Nürburgring circuit and added a win at Monza, finishing runner up in the championship to Juan Manuel Fangio.

File:ALBERTO ASCARI Ferrari Switzerland 1953.jpg
Alberto Ascari driving a Ferrari in Switzerland 1953

With success in Europe, Enzo Ferrari supplied a car for Ascari in the Indianapolis 500, at the time a World Championship event, in 1952. He was the only European driver to race at Indy in its 11 years on the World Championship schedule, but his day ended after 40 laps. That was the only World Championship event in which he competed that season that he didn't win. Ascari's Ferrari Tipo 500 dominated 1952, winning all six races in Europe that season and recording the fastest lap in each race. He nearly scored the maximum amount of points a driver could earn, but drivers were given points for fastest laps at the time, and he had to share a half point with another driver in one race.

He won three more consecutive races to start the 1953 season, giving him nine straight wins (not counting Indy) before his streak ended when he finished 4th in France, although it was a close 4th as the race was highly competitive. He earned two more wins later in the year to give himself a second consecutive World Championship. Ascari did not continue his dominance in 1954 as he failed to finish a race in his four attempts at F1, although he made up for it by winning the Mille Miglia.

Alberto Ascari in the 1953 British GP



Alberto Ascari in a F1 Ferrari


Death

His 1955 season started similarly, retiring twice more, the latter of which was a spectacular incident in Monaco where he crashed into the harbour after missing a chicane. Four days later, on May 26, he went to Monza to watch his friend Eugenio Castellotti test a Ferrari 750 Monza sports car, which they were to co-race in the Supercortemaggiore 1000 km race (having been given special dispensation by Lancia). Just before going home to have lunch with his wife Mietta, he decided to try a few laps with the Ferrari. In shirt sleeves, ordinary trousers and Castellotti’s helmet he set off. As he emerged from a fast curve on the third lap the car unaccountably skidded, turned on its nose and somersaulted twice. Thrown out on the track, Ascari suffered multiple injuries and died a few minutes later.

The crash occurred on the Curva di Vialone, one of the track's challenging high-speed corners. The corner where the accident happened, renamed in his honour, no longer exists, having been replaced with a chicane, the Variante Ascari.

Legend has it that Ascari was a very superstitious man and would always insist on using his distinct pale blue crash helmet. On the day he died, his helmet wasn’t available, so he borrowed Castellotti’s white one. The helmet was at the repair shop, having new chin strap fitted after the incident in Monte Carlo which saw Ascari's Lancia take a dip in the Monaco harbour.

The eerie similarities between the deaths of Alberto and his father still haunt his fans to this day. Alberto Ascari died on May 26, 1955, at the age of 36. Antonio Ascari was also 36 when he died, on July 26, 1925 (Alberto was only 4 days older). Both father and son had won 13 championship Grand Prix and drove car number 26. Both were killed four days after surviving serious accidents and on the 26th day of the month. Both had crashed fatally at the exit of fast but easy left-hand corners and both left behind a wife and two children. Fans from all across the globe mourned as Alberto Ascari was laid to rest next to the grave of his father in the Cimitero Monumentale cemetery in Milan, to be forever remembered as one of the greatest racers of all time.

A distraught Mietta Ascari told Enzo Ferrari that were it not for their children she would gladly have joined her beloved Alberto in heaven.


Legacy

The British manufacturer, Ascari Cars of the Ascari KZ1 supercar is named in his honour.

In 1992, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

There is a street in Rome (in the EUR region) named in his honor.

The Ascari Chicane at Autodromo Nazionale Monza is named after him.


Complete World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 WDC Points
1950 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 125 Ferrari V12 GBR
MON
2
500
SUI
Ret
FRA
DNS
5th 11
Ferrari 125/275 BEL
5
Ferrari 375 ITA
2 *
1951 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari V12 SUI
6
500
BEL
2
FRA
2 †
GBR
Ret
GER
1
ITA
1
ESP
4
2nd 25 (28)
1952 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari V12 500
Ret
1st 36 (53.5)
Ferrari 500 Ferrari Straight-4 SUI
BEL
1
FRA
1
GBR
1
GER
1
NED
1
ITA
1
1953 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Straight-4 ARG
1
500
NED
1
BEL
1
FRA
4
GBR
1
GER
8 ‡
SUI
1
ITA
Ret
1st 34.5 (46.5)
1954 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati Straight-6 ARG
500
BEL
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
SUI
25th 1.14
Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 625 Ferrari Straight-4 ITA
Ret
Scuderia Lancia Lancia D50 Lancia V8 ESP
Ret
1955 Scuderia Lancia Lancia D50 Lancia V8 ARG
Ret
MON
Ret
500
BEL
NED
GBR
ITA
NC 0


* Indicates shared drive with Dorino Serafini
† Indicates shared drive with José Froilán González
‡ Indicates shared drive with Luigi Villoresi

World Championship Records

  • During the 1952 and 1953 World Championship seasons, Ascari set 7 fastest laps in succession, an achievement that has not been matched to date. The driver to have come closest is Kimi Räikkönen with 6 (in 2008).
  • During the 1952 and 1953 World Championship seasons, Ascari won 9 World Championship Grands Prix in succession. Note that to arrive at the statistic of 9 successive races requires the exclusion of the 1953 Indianapolis 500. This caveat is usually permitted on the basis that the Indianapolis 500, whilst a round of the World Championship, was run to a different formula from the other World Championship events, and very few of the regular World Championship teams and drivers competed at Indianapolis and vice versa (Ascari's participation in the 1952 Indianapolis race being one of the few exceptions).

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired
1952 12 19 134.308 25 31 40 0 Spun T4
Totals 40 0
Starts 1
Poles 0
Front Row 0
Wins 0
Top 5 0
Top 10 0
Retired 1
  • Ascari was the only regular F1 driver to participate in the Indianapolis 500 while the race was part of the FIA World Championship (1950-1960).

References

External links



Formula One World Drivers' Champions
(1950Nino Farina ·(1951Juan Manuel Fangio ·(195253Alberto Ascari ·(1954,55,56,57Juan Manuel Fangio ·(1958Mike Hawthorn · (195960Jack Brabham · (1961Phil Hill ·

(1962Graham Hill · (1963Jim Clark · (1964John Surtees · (1965Jim Clark · (1966Jack Brabham · (1967Denny Hulme · (1968Graham Hill · (1969Jackie Stewart · (1970Jochen Rindt · (1971Jackie Stewart · (1972Emerson Fittipaldi · (1973Jackie Stewart · (1974Emerson Fittipaldi · (1975Niki Lauda · (1976James Hunt · (1977Niki Lauda · (1978Mario Andretti · (1979Jody Scheckter · (1980Alan Jones · (1981Nelson Piquet · (1982Keke Rosberg · (1983Nelson Piquet · (1984Niki Lauda · (198586Alain Prost · (1987Nelson Piquet · (1988Ayrton Senna · (1989Alain Prost · (199091Ayrton Senna · (1992Nigel Mansell · (1993Alain Prost · (199495Michael Schumacher · (1996Damon Hill · (1997Jacques Villeneuve · (199899Mika Häkkinen · (2000,01,02,03,04Michael Schumacher · (200506Fernando Alonso


3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Scuderia Ferrari
Personnel:
22px-Flag of France.png Jean Todt | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Mario Almondo | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Stefano Domenicali | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Luca Baldisseri
Current drivers:
22px-Flag of Finland.png Kimi Räikkönen | 22px-Flag of Brazil.png Felipe Massa | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Luca Badoer | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Giancarlo Fisichella (Test Driver) 22px-Flag of Spain.png Marc Gené (Test Driver)
Notable Former drivers:
22px-Flag of Germany.png Michael Schumacher | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Alberto Ascari | 22px-Flag of Argentina.png Juan Manuel Fangio | 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.png Mike Hawthorn | 22px-Flag of Austria.png Niki Lauda | 22px-Flag of South Africa.png Jody Scheckter | 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.png John Surtees | 22px-Flag of the United States.png Phil Hill | 22px-Flag of Brazil.png Rubens Barrichello | 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.png Eddie Irvine | 22px-Flag of France.png Jean Alesi | 22px-Flag of France.png Alain Prost | 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.png Nigel Mansell | 22px-Flag of Austria.png Gerhard Berger | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Michele Alboreto | 22px-Flag of France.png René Arnoux | 22px-Flag of France.png Patrick Tambay | 22px-Flag of the Canada.png Gilles Villeneuve | 22px-Flag of Argentina.png Carlos Reutemann | 20px-Flag of Switzerland.png Clay Regazzoni | 22px-Flag of the United States.png Mario Andretti | 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png Jacky Ickx | 22px-Flag of Germany.png Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips | 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Lorenzo Bandini
Formula One cars:
125 | 275 | 340 | 375 | 500 | 553 | 625 | 555 | D50 | 801 | 412 | 246 | 256 | 156 | 158 | 1512 | 312 | 312B | 312T | 126C | 156/85 | F1/86 | F1/87 | 640 | 641 | 642 | 643 | F92A | F93A | 412T | F310 | F310B | F300 | F399 | F1-2000 | F2001 | F2002 | F2002B | F2003-GA | F2004 | F2004M | F2005 | 248 | F2007 | F2008 | F60 | F10 | 150° Italia | F2012